'We know nothing about the missing Israeli soldier,' say Hamas amid 26th day of Gaza war

MISSING: Hamas deny kidnapping or killing Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin of the Israeli army in the Gaza conflict [EPA]

The organisation said Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was killed in a strike on his captors by the Israeli army, just an hour into the 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire.

Hamas claim they lost contact with their fighters following a clash in southern Gaza, during the 26-day war that has killed more than 1,600 Palestinians and 66 Israelis.

A statement on Hamas' website said they are "not aware until this moment of a missing soldier or his whereabouts or the circumstances of his disappearance."

"We believe all members of this group have died in an [Israeli] strike, including the Zionist soldier the enemy says disappeared," they added.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the statement.

The Foreign Office was looking into claims that Lt Goldin held joint Israeli-British citizenship, but Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said "no evidence" of this had been found.

Rabbi Reuven Leigh, a Cambridge University chaplain, said Lt Goldin - who has a twin brother also serving in the Israeli army in Gaza - had lived in the city for a number of years.

He posted on Twitter: "Shaken to hear of Hadar Goldin's kidnapping, he spent a few years living in Cambridge with his family, please pray for his safe return."

TOLL RISING: More than 1,600 Palestinians and 66 Israelis have died in the 26-day war so far [EPA]

“We believe all members of this group have died in an [Israeli] strike, including the Zionist soldier the enemy says disappeared”

Hamas

Meanwhile, questions have been asked over suggestions British-manufactured weapons were supplied to Israel to be used for attacks on heavily-populated Gaza.

Arms export licences racking up to £42million have been issued to 130 British defence manufacturers since 2010 to sell ammunition, drones, armoured vehicles and military systems to Israel.

Labour MP Katy Clark criticised the British government for "burying their heads in the sand" over whether the country has been supplying weapons for the conflict that has been going on for more than three weeks.

She said: "By refusing to investigate this vital question the British Government are trying to bury their heads in the sand.

"This is a shameful approach to take and frankly makes the Government look as if it has something to hide.

"The British public have the right to know the level of support which the United Kingdom has provided to the Israeli armed forces through arms sales."

A government spokesman said: "We are currently reviewing all existing export licences to Israel.

"All applications for export licences are assessed on a case by case basis against strict criteria.

"We will not issue a licence if there is a clear risk that the equipment might be used for internal repression, or if there is a clear risk that it would provoke or prolong conflict."